Tarek Hasan, head of ESG at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe and chair of trustees at The Movements Trust, has been named a sustainable business leader of the year for the EMEA region at Environmental Finance's Sustainable Company Awards 2024.
Hasan joined Daiwa Capital Markets Europe in January 2022 as their first ESG hire. Previously, Hasan worked at MUFG, where in 2019 he undertook a brief career break to reposition his career towards sustainable finance.
"A key part of my role when I first joined Daiwa was to support our new chief executive with embedding ESG and sustainability at the heart of our strategy and everything we do at the firm," Hasan told Environmental Finance. "We identified three UN Sustainable Development Goals around which we would focus our efforts to service the needs of our clients as well as enable longer, better lives for society as a whole."
The judges for this category were particularly impressed with Hasan's approach to popularising ESG concepts within the business.
During the past year, Daiwa partnered with the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) to design and deliver an ESG development programme.
"The programme has empowered colleagues to better understand ESG and apply the knowledge they've acquired in the context of their business roles," Hasan said.
"This was considered a great success where the outputs from the programme have enabled us to engage clients in a different way. This includes using ESG data driven approaches to gain new client insights, creating tailored ESG products and solutions, in addition to exploring innovative ideas to enhance our corporate sustainability."
Hasan said Daiwa's European institutional investor clients are 'sophisticated' in how they consider ESG within their portfolio construction.
He explained: "At Daiwa, we look to play an important role in connecting investors to opportunities – whilst considering the needs of our institutional clients. We work closely with issuers to help them better understand investor preferences so that they can become a more attractive proposition from an ESG perspective."
From the end of 2023, Daiwa served as an adviser to the Japanese government to develop its Climate Transition Framework, with Daiwa participating in the distribution of Japan's first transition bond in February 2024.
"I am proud of the role Daiwa has played in supporting the first transition bond issued by Japan," he said. "Looking forward, I believe the transition finance market will play a critical role in our global journey to net zero. I am excited about the growth opportunities in this space and broadening its awareness with our clients to direct more capital towards future transition solutions."
Hasan is also co-founder and chair of trustees of The Movements Trust, a charity which in the past two years has regranted over £1 million ($1.3 million) to environmental and social movements.
"I am privileged to be part of The Movements Trust – working with our incredible trustee board and executive director has kept me grounded, provided a new perspective and a different appreciation of the needs of society, whilst working towards delivering meaningful impact both within and outside corporate setting," he added.
